77: Chapter 77 A New Neighbor

Jiang Feng leaned back in the backseat, eyes closed, one finger tapping rhythmically on his knee.

He wasn't asleep; his consciousness was immersed in his mind.

【Ding! Huake Institute talent screening mission completed! Final settlement in progress...】

【As I write this, I hope readers remember our domain: Taiwan Novel Website, keeping you company in your leisure time, super thoughtful.】

【Host behavior detected: Successfully discovered an overlooked national treasure-level scientist, irreversible positive impact on the Pangu Project...】

【Host behavior detected: Successfully avoided a potential national-level security risk...】

【Mission rating upgrading...】

【Congratulations, Host! The final mission rating is: Epic!】

Another Epic level!

【Calculating rewards...】

【Congratulations, Host. Brain cancer cell activity reduced by 30%, remaining lifespan increased by 180 days!】

Jiang Feng could feel the persistent, dull pain lurking deep in his brain significantly lessen.

【Congratulations, Host. Received cash reward of 10 million!】

With this mission, including the final payment, he netted 20 million!

The pressure to extend his life was temporarily relieved, giving him more confidence to face the troubles that might pop up at any time.

This time, there was no new skill reward.

Jiang Feng actually felt more at ease.

The ability of 【Fated Prophecy】, which was enough to defy fate, was still extremely rare.

Besides, he hadn't had a chance to test this new ability yet.

"I probably won't have a chance to use it... Hmm, unless something unexpected happens..."

Jiang Feng silently made a wish in his heart; after all, the price of activating this ability seemed quite terrifying.

Just then, Old Chen broke the silence in the car.

"Boss, just now at the Huake Institute, that woman named Lu Cheng... I always feel like something is very wrong."

Jiang Feng opened his eyes, watching the city lights rapidly retreating outside the window.

"It's more than just 'wrong'." Jiang Feng's voice was languid. "She isn't a human at all; she's a program wearing human skin."

Old Chen's grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"Then if the Huake Institute keeps her, wouldn't that be..."

"That's their business." Jiang Feng interrupted him. "We are the service provider getting paid to do a job, don't concern yourself with the client's business."

"Once the payment and goods are exchanged, any subsequent problems have nothing to do with us."

"Besides, with someone like Old Liu in charge, a single Lu Cheng won't be able to cause any trouble for now."

Old Chen nodded after hearing this, not asking any more questions.

He trusted his boss's judgment.

...

An hour later, the lexus pulled smoothly into Longhu Mountain Villa.

Jiang Feng was calculating how to spend those 20+ million.

First, give Old Chen a raise. This guy had been through thick and thin with him recently; even if he didn't have great merit, he had put in the hard work.

Then, upgrade the villa's security system. Last time, Qian Li's people managed to sneak in; although they didn't have malicious intent, it was still annoying.

Save the rest of the money. Once his illness was truly cured, he would find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, buy a piece of land, build a small courtyard, and lie in the sun every day.

Jiang Feng was happily imagining his retirement life when the car slowly stopped in front of his Guanhu Residence villa.

Jiang Feng froze.

The villa next to his own, the one that couldn't be sold because it was attached to a haunted house, was actually brightly lit at this moment.

Several black Mercedes SUVs with out-of-town license plates were parked on the lawn outside the villa.

Several burly men in black suits and sunglasses were silently moving things from the cars.

Those items were covered with thick black canvas, making it impossible to see exactly what they were.

But judging by their distinct, sharp outlines, they were some kind of large-scale precision instruments.

"Boss." Old Chen's voice deepened. "This group... something is wrong."

As a retired scout, his intuition was screaming.

"The cars are bulletproof, and the tires are custom-made too." Old Chen lowered his voice. "Look at those people's posture and their defensive perimeter; they've all received professional training. They're only stronger, not weaker, than the bodyguards Consultant Qian brought last time."

Jiang Feng frowned.

Damn it, I spent a fortune buying this haunted house for the sake of peace and quiet.

How long have I lived here, and why have a bunch of monsters and demons come to be my neighbors?

"Could it be some rich person who just moved in?" Jiang Feng asked.

Old Chen shook his head.

"Doesn't look like it."

"When rich people move, they hire moving companies, not people who look like agents straight out of a movie."

Just then, a light turned on in a second-floor window of the villa.

A slender figure appeared behind the curtains.

Because of the distance and the lighting, it was impossible to see her features clearly.

But that silhouette, just standing there quietly, exuded a cold temperament.

Jiang Feng looked at the figure and felt it was somewhat familiar.

The next second, that figure slowly pulled back the curtains.

A flawless face, which he had only seen that afternoon, appeared behind the window.

Lu Cheng.

She was wearing a white bathrobe, holding a glass of red wine, and wearing that precisely calculated, just-right smile on her face.

Her gaze traveled across the dozens of meters, precisely locking onto Jiang Feng in the car.

She raised her wine glass and shook it gently in Jiang Feng's direction.

Then, her lips moved.

"Mr. Jiang, we are neighbors now. Please take care of me in the future."

Jiang Feng's temples began to throb.

Damn it, she's like a ghost that won't leave!

How could this woman be here?

Are the people at the Huake Institute crazy?

Putting such a dangerous item right at his doorstep?

Jiang Feng took out his phone and dialed Qian Li's number without a second thought.

The call was answered almost instantly.

"Consultant Jiang! Not resting yet this late? Is there something you're not satisfied with regarding our cooperation? Feel free to bring it up!" Qian Li's voice was overly enthusiastic.

"Consultant Qian, let me ask you." Jiang Feng's voice was very cold. "Lu Cheng, what's going on?"

Qian Li on the other end of the line fell silent.

After a full dozen seconds, a long sigh came through.

"Consultant Jiang, this matter... it's a long story." Qian Li's voice was filled with helplessness. "We didn't expect things to turn out like this."

"After you left, we conducted a top-level security assessment on Lu Cheng." Qian Li's tone became grave. "As a result, her resume, background, and social connections were as clean as a blank sheet of paper. We couldn't find any problems."

"But the more that was the case, the less at ease we felt."

"Just when we were preparing to isolate her temporarily for further observation, the higher-ups... sent people over."

"The higher-ups?" Jiang Feng frowned.

"Yes." Qian Li's voice dropped even lower. "A department that none of us can afford to offend came and took Lu Cheng away directly."

"They only left one sentence."

"They said Lu Cheng is a tool that the country wants. But how to use her, she decides for herself."

Jiang Feng understood.

Someone had given Lu Cheng the green light and granted her the highest level of freedom.

"So, she moved in next door to me?" Jiang Feng's voice carried anger. "What the hell is this? Placing a time bomb right next to my house?"

"Consultant Jiang, please don't get agitated." Qian Li quickly placated him. "We had no choice! That department's authority is much higher than ours."

"The only thing we can do is set up 24-hour surveillance around her residence."

Qian Li gave a bitter laugh.

"Those men in black you saw are actually our people, meant to monitor her."

"Monitor?" Jiang Feng sneered. "Look at them, does that look like monitoring? To me, it looks more like they're acting as her bodyguards."

"This... the order from above is to ensure Dr. Lu's absolute safety, and to satisfy all her reasonable requests."

"The first reasonable request she made was that she wanted to be your neighbor to facilitate academic exchange."

Academic exchange, my ass!

Jiang Feng cursed in his heart.

That woman clearly wanted to use him as a lab rat for dissection and research!

Jiang Feng hung up the phone, not wanting to waste any more words with Qian Li.

He looked at the figure still standing in front of the window on the second floor of the neighboring villa and felt a massive headache.

Old Chen also saw who was behind the window.

His expression was even uglier than Jiang Feng's.

"Boss, how about... we move somewhere else?" Old Chen suggested. "Being neighbors with such a... thing is too dangerous."

"Move?" Jiang Feng rubbed his temples. "Move where?"

"Believe me, if we move out today, she'll be able to buy the house next to our new home tomorrow."

Jiang Feng looked at Lu Cheng, and Lu Cheng was smiling back at him; it was the expression of someone sizing up a new toy.

"Damn it."

Jiang Feng pushed open the car door and got out.

"Let's go, let's go home."

He said to Old Chen.

"If soldiers come, block them with soldiers; if water comes, cover it with earth."

"I want to see what kind of tricks she wants to play."